The Benefits of Ginger: An Overlooked Superfood

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June 22, 2021 3 min read

What do you do when you have sore muscles?

For those who would prefer a natural approach to recovery, they might apply ice, rest the affected area, or use a supplement to support the body’s healing process.

Oftentimes, most people will reach for their favorite turmeric formula, and for good reason.

Turmeric is well documented in its benefits to provide relief for muscle soreness (1,2,3), however, there is another herb in the same family as turmeric that is often overlooked.....

That herb is Zingiber officinale, more commonly known as ginger root.

Ginger has been a popular ingredient in Asian cuisine for centuries and is growing in popularity because of its health benefits.

The bioactive constituents in this superfood that provide its many health benefits are gingerols, shogaols and paradols. We include a full spectrum extract with each of these phytochemicals in our Inflavinol formula.

1. Muscle Healing

Excessive muscle strain can increase the oxidative stress in the muscle tissue which can lead to muscle soreness (4).

Research indicates that ginger could be helpful in reducing the oxidative stress caused by excessive free radicals (5,6).

By doing this, ginger has been found to decrease muscle soreness and increase healing when using ginger before or after straining a muscle group (7,8,9).

In addition to supporting muscle soreness, ginger has also been found to potentially aid in reducing exercise-induced pain (10).

This makes ginger a great option to address the discomfort of today, while, at the same time, reducing the length of time one would experience muscle soreness.

2. Joint Health

Many struggle with mobility issues in their joints which can lead to aches and pains. There have been a number of studies that have evaluated whether or not ginger is a helpful nutrient for those struggling with these issues.

A review of independent studies on this topic, also called a meta-analysis, was conducted in 2015 (11). The researchers reviewed 5 trials that met their criteria and determined that, “ginger was modestly efficacious and reasonably safe” for those dealing with mobility issues in the joint that result in discomfort.

3. Additional Benefits of Ginger

In addition to the musculoskeletal benefits that ginger can provide, other known benefits of ginger include:

Cardiovascular Health - There are trials that suggest that ginger can be helpful for supporting healthy blood sugar (12,13) and those that need help with cholesterol (14,15,16).
Maintaining A Healthy Weight - There have been a number of studies that have noted that ginger may provide weight loss benefit, but many of those have been animal trials. One meta-analysis (17) of 14 different trials concluded that, “supplementation with ginger significantly decreased body weight.”
Nausea and Indigestion - Evidence suggests that ginger could provide benefit to those with indigestion by accelerating gastric emptying (18). It has also been found helpful for dealing with nausea (19,20,21).
Menstrual Pain - There are a number of trials that provide compelling evidence that ginger could support those dealing with pain during menstruation (22,23,24,25).

Conclusion

For those who desire natural, fast-acting relief from joint soreness and discomfort, they would be well-advised to consider using ginger root.

This oft forgotten superfood will not only support good musculoskeletal health, but also provide a number of additional benefits that one would reap from incorporating ginger into their diet.

For those that desire the benefit, but do not care for the taste, you could consider a high quality supplement like Inflavinol.

This premier formula from Utzy Naturals combines a high dose of ginger powder along with a blend of herbal extracts that support a healthy inflammatory balance.